Two Rivers News

Two Rivers of Marlborough’s owner and winemaker, Dave Clouston, is excited to announce the appointment of Jason Yank as Commercial Director.

“Our business is experiencing rapid growth,” notes Dave. “We needed to bring more structure into the company and global experience to the team. We are thrilled that Jason has joined us.”

“I have been a long-time fan of the wines that Dave has been making,” says Jason. “Having the opportunity to join Dave and the Two Rivers team is a privilege. Bringing to the table over a decade of wine industry knowledge, people and places; both here in New Zealand and from overseas, makes for a very exciting and motivating future. I’m delighted to be here and I hope to see you soon.”

“He’s done it again…… Two Rivers winemaker Dave Clouston has claimed the top spot for the third time in four years.” – Cuisine Magazine

The January 2017 issue of Cuisine Magazine, on sale 12th December 2016, features the annual NZ Rosé tasting.
84 wines were tasted, only 3 wines scored 5 Stars and Two Rivers L’Ile de Beauté Rosé 2016 was awarded the No.1 NZ Rosé.

TWO RIVERS ‘L’ILE DE BEAUTÉ’ ROSÉ 2016 – No.1 NZ Rosé, 5 stars

“Pale salmon in colour and beautifully perfumed – rose petals and fresh strawberries come to mind – our top rosé, dry in style, impressed the panel with its lovely primary fruit and quiet authority. Crunchy acids provide tension, drive and length and a hint of leafiness adds complexity to the flavour profile.”

Winemaker Dave Clouston is understandably thrilled with taking out the top spot for the third time in four years. “Since learning to make great Rosé on the island of Corsica, I have taken Rosé production very seriously, aiming for a dry, pure, Pinot Noir Rosé in a Mediterranean style. I am overwhelmed my Rosé won again and incredibly encouraged that the wine style is on the right path.”

We are thrilled to announce Two Rivers ‘Brookby Hill’ Pinot Gris 2016 and Two Rivers ‘Juliet’ Riesling 2016 have just won GOLD medals in the New Zealand International Wine Show 2016.

The fruit for both wines came off the new home block vineyard, Brookby Hill, which was purchased by Two Rivers in December last year. “This is a huge moment for Brookby Hill, as well as a big tick for the new direction we took with this vintage”, notes Winemaker Dave Clouston. “It’s an outstanding result and certainly showcases the potential of the new home block”.

The ‘Brookby Hill’ Pinot Gris 2016 has 10% barrel fermentation and spent 4 months on fine lees before bottling. The wine is aromatic, textured and dry with beautiful flavours of marmalade, crystallised ginger, raw honeycomb and mineral notes. This wine is set for release early October.

The ‘Juliet’ Riesling 2016, named after Dave’s mother who adores Riesling, is also solely from fruit off Brookby Hill. Very harmonious, this wine is medium dry, with lime zest, cardamom, bitter orange and old fashioned ginger beer flavours. The ‘Juliet’ Riesling 2016 will be released later in the year and will age gracefully.

We have just purchased a beautiful 23 acre undulating hillside block in Marlborough’s Omaka Valley. The majority of the vineyard was planted in 2000 and now a total of 15 acres are planted with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Syrah and Viognier.

“It’s exciting times for Two Rivers – a real coming of age for the brand.” said Dave Clouston, who established Two Rivers in 2004. “After years of exploring, we’ve identified that the southern valleys of Marlborough are the best place to grow top-end Pinot Noir.

Brookby Hill Vineyard will really come into its own with the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and it’s a great feeling seeing the first fruit come off this block.” notes Dave. He’s also looking forward to making a Syrah – a first in the Two Rivers range.

Friends, family, growers and distributors gathered to celebrate the new vineyard and the first harvest with a long lunch on Brookby Hill.

“Dave believes Sauvignon Blanc should be cherished and this exciting example demonstrates how diverse and age worthy Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc can be.”

Owner and winemaker, Dave Clouston, has been making Sauvignon Blanc since Two Rivers first vintage in 2004. Our flagship wine: ‘Convergence’ Sauvignon Blanc is a success story, enjoying worldwide acclaim, but by 2013 Dave wanted to try and make a less fruit driven, more complex, textural, age worthy style of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough’s Southern Valleys… And thus the first ‘Altitude’ Sauvignon Blanc was born.

Two vintages on, we have just released our ‘Altitude’ Sauvignon Blanc 2015. This time, Dave has tweaked up the interesting notch further, adding a concrete egg component to the wine. 40% was wild fermented in a concrete egg tank, while 60% went wild in 8 year old hogshead barrels. The wine was then aged for 10 months in these vessels, with a small portion going through MLF.

“I think barrel is great for texture and weight but the egg gives the wine more purity, elegance and freshness while still adding texture and complexity,” says Dave.

“Concrete is slightly more porous than stainless steel, so it lets the wine evolve naturally and gain more complex, savoury characters.”

The oval shape of the egg tank also plays a unique role in the aging process. “As the accumulation of lees increases from the widest part of the tank to the narrower part, the lees slowly starts rolling over itself, allowing a continuously mixing of the lees without any external interruption of the wine,” explains Dave. “I’m not sure if the egg is better than barrel but I think it brings a certain intellectual component to the wine which I really enjoy.”

Dave believes Sauvignon Blanc should be cherished and this exciting example demonstrates how diverse and age worthy Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc can be.

Here in Marlborough, the vines are yellowing and the leaves are starting to fall. It’s a serene time of the year for winegrowers, after the turbulent harvest period now behind us and the 2016 vintage wines fermenting away in the winery.

It was quite a season, one not forgotten in a hurry…. We faced record-breaking dry conditions, thanks to one of the strongest El Nino events in recent history. February measured the second warmest February on record, and this, coupled with a serious lack of rainfall through summer, and unusually warm nights, caused a bit of vine stress and Powdery Mildew pressure in some areas. Crops levels were above average so we were busy earlier in the season too; bunch thinning to restrict yields to desired crop levels.

We’re expecting 2016 vintage wines to have great physiological ripeness and will quite possibly have lower acids due to the warm summer nights.

Owner and winemaker, Dave Clouston, is ecstatic with not only one, but two of his wines, taking out no.1 in Cuisine Magazine’s Dec/Jan issue (on sale on 14th December 2015). Throughout its 28 years, Cuisine has become a New Zealand household name and it has an international reputation for excellence. Its team of experts have scored the wines as follows:

“This is a thoughtful expression,” noted Jack Glover. “And there’s an energy about the fruit profile that I love.”

TWO RIVERS ‘L’ILE DE BEAUTÉ’ ROSÉ 2015
No.1 Rosé in New Zealand and 5 stars

“I take Rosé very seriously, aiming for a dry, pure, Pinot Noir Rosé in a Mediterranean style. I was elated to be awarded no.1 in New Zealand for our 2015 vintage,” says Dave. “And then, to take out no.1 Sauvignon Blanc as well was an amazing result. There was such a fine line up of wines in what are the most competitive categories so I am truly thrilled.”

“Its winning personality comes through in the deceptive depth of the strawberry infused fruit, the well-ordered lightness of its frame and its overall clarity and class.”